The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 4 (of 6)

At the very utmost, the white2099 violet never lasts longer than three years: should it exceed that period, it is sure to degenerate. The rose-tree will last so long as five years without being pruned or cauterized,2100 methods by which it is made to grow young again. We have already stated2101 that the nature of the soil is of the very greatest importance; for in Egypt, we find, all these plants are perfectly inodorous, and it is only the myrtle that has any particular smell. In some countries, too, the germination of all the plants precedes that in other parts of the world by so long a period as two months even. The rose-beds should be well spaded immediately after the west winds begin to prevail, and, a second time, at the summer solstice: every care, however, should be paid, between these two periods, to keeping the ground well raked and cleaned.